Seconds from death: At a slaughterhouse, deep in a Javanese village, Wakira confidently handles a large cobra

At a slaughterhouse in a small Javanese village, Wakira confidently handles a large hissing cobra.

But as the snake writhes in his arms, it is moments from being skinned - the first step in its journey from being killed in a small Indonesian village to becoming a handbag on a department store shelf.

Wakira, known as Boss Cobra, is the owner of a slaughterhouse that produces snake meat and skin.

He employs ten workers and earns up to 15 million rupiah ($ 1,562, £1,000) a month from the factory's production.

At his factory in Kapetakan village near Cirebon, Indonesia's West Java province he produces snakeskin to make products such as bags, shoes, wallets and belts.

Snake skins measuring in the
hundreds of metres, are sold to bag factories in the West and Central
Java provinces on a monthly basis.

One of the manufactures is Sunarto, who always checks over a finished bag before sending it out.

He has a factory in Comal district in Pekalongan, Indonesia's Central Java province.

The price of a bag made from snake
skin costs between 150,000 rupiah ($15, £10) and 300,000 rupiah ($
31, £19), depending on its size.

When they reach Western fashion houses their price can increase dramatically, selling for up to $4,000 (£2,500).

There are a variety of ways for snakes to be killed and skinned in Indonesia.

The most common method has been cited by many as exceptionally cruel and outdated.

Preparations: But as the snake writhes in his arms, it is moments from death- the first step in its journey from being skinned in a small Indonesian village to becoming a handbag on a department store shelf

Slaughter: Workers hold a snake before killing it at a snake slaughterhouse. Snake skins measuring in the hundreds of metres, are sold to bag factories in the West and Central Java provinces on a monthly basis

The snake is stunned with a blow to
the head from the back of a machete and a hose pipe expertly forced
between its jaws.

Next, the water is turned on and the reptile fills up - swelling like a balloon.

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It will be left like that for ten minutes or so, a leather cord tied around its neck to prevent the liquid escaping.

Then its head is impaled on a meat
hook, a couple of quick incisions follow, and the now-loosened skin
peeled off with a series of brutal tugs - much like a rubber glove from a
hand.

Stripping: A worker skins a snake at the slaughterhouse. While the innards are not wasted - snake meat is believed by some to be a remedy for skin diseases and asthma, as well as an aid to increase virility

Back to basics: A worker pours water on snakes before cutting their skins in the start of the process

Handful: Workers hold snakes for skinning at the snake slaughterhouse

Due to the shape of the animal, the skin naturally curls around itself when it
is placed on a board and put in a hot oven to dry out.

They are also dyed according to the style and shape of the bag and left on a board to dry out in the sun and then the skin will be sent to a tannery.

The python's peeled body is simply tossed on a pile of similarly stripped snakes.

After a day or two of unimaginable agony it will die from the effects of shock or dehydration.

But the innards are not wasted -
snake meat is believed by some to be a remedy for skin diseases and
asthma, as well as an aid to increase virility.

Twisting: A worker places snakes on a board before they are dried out at the slaughterhouse.

Process: A worker put tray of snakes into an oven for drying. Wakira employs ten workers and earns up to 15 million rupiah ($ 1,562) a month from the factory's production

Heat: The cheapest and most effective way to dry the snakes out is to place them in a hot oven

Laborious: Workers use pairs of scissors to cut the skins of snakes

All in a day's work: Wakira smokes a cigarette as pieces of dried snake skin are seen hanging in front of his snake slaughterhouse. Wakira is known as 'Boss Cobra' owns the slaughterhouse that produces snake meat and skin

Shade: According to the style and colour of the product the snake skin is dyed by hand and then hung out on a board to dry out in the hot sun

Drying out: A worker carries a board with pieces of snake skin, covered in dye, which need to be dried, at the factory

Skill: A worker sews a strip of snake skin at a factory producing bags - they are popular with women across the world, although considered by many as cruel

Quality control: Sunarto, the owner of a factory producing bags, checks over a finished bag that is made of snake skin

Graft: A worker sews a bag - they spend hours laboriously constructing the bags in the hot workshops

The end product: A worker looks at a finished bag, which is then packed and transported to sellers